The Adventures of Maxie and Archie
by redwalgrl-RG
Summary: In which our unwilling heroes go on the journey of their lives to prevent the collapse of time, kick ass, and maybe not hate each other all that much.  PMD: Explorers of the Sky crossover; eventual Archie x Maxie
1. Prologue

Once upon a time there was a pathetic little writer who thought it would be a good idea to play Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky and name her hero and partner Pokemon after Maxie and Archie.

This writer soon had a crazy idea that would not leave her alone. This is that crazy idea. These are the adventures of Maxie and Archie as they explore the Pokeworld and… do various stupid shit.

This story will follow the basic outline of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read. If you're not interested in eventual Hardenshipping (Archie x Maxie), don't read. If you're not interested in humanoid versions of Pokemon, don't read. And if you're not interested in some random OOC shit for the sake of humor, don't read.

Now that you know what to expect, carry on. I'm writing this to amuse myself rather than you, so like it or not this story is going to be continued. And it is clearly on crack.

And to think, it all started with another one of Archie's stupid ideas.

They had been defeated nearly a year ago - not that Maxie was keeping track or anything - by a lone Pokemon Trainer named May. A girl who, as it turned out, managed to defeat the Pokemon gods Kyogre and Groudon, summon the legendary Rayquaza to calm their ire, and go on to defeat the Pokemon League. She was a special one indeed - one that both the Team Aqua leader and the Team Magma leader would have eagerly accepted into their ranks. She was too high-and-mighty for that though - and she destroyed both their plans simultaneously.

Since then, the two had gone back to petty rivalry. One would try something, the other would intervene. One would do some good, the other would screw it up. It didn't matter what it was, as long as Archie and Maxie were at one another's throats - sometimes literally.

And it was _very_ literal that day. The two hadn't actually _seen_ each other since the Kyogre/Groudon/Rayquaza event, but when they did run into one another it erupted into a screaming match. It wasn't surprising that they attracted the attention of the public - but thankfully they took things away before the press could get ahold of them. They were still wanted men, after all. They had taken it to an old Team Aqua base - it was the closest thing to Lillycove that wouldn't be accessable to anyone who wanted in. Both Magma and Aqua Grunts guarded the entrance from intruders while their bosses shouted obscenities at one another.

Maxie didn't know what happened next, but _something_ certainly caused his vision to begin fading - and if he wasn't mistaken, he _thought_ he saw Archie look surprised, perhaps even horrified - before all went black.


	2. A Storm At Sea

He woke feeling groggy - his head aching; the bright setting sun doing nothing to ease the pain. Distantly Maxie remembered that he shouldn't be seeing the sun, though _why_ was a mystery. Looming over him, and casting a rather large shadow across the sand, was a very familiar face.

A very familiar face with two puffy, light blue ears. Huh.

"Whoa, hey, are you alright?" Archie's voice was _still_ annoying, even after all these years. Maxie had never gotten used to it. It only aggravated his headache and he slowly sat up, shaking sand (sand?) out of his vibrant red hair. "For a moment there I thought you were a goner! What are you doin' out here anyway?"

"Shut up," Maxie groaned. "It's bad enough having to listen to your voice - I'm not going to bother _thinking_ at the moment too."

"That's not very nice," Archie pointed out, folding his arms up behind his head. Maxie now noticed a _tail_ of that same light blue color. How strange. Was Archie into cosplaying or something? While that would have been an amusing thought, Maxie was certain Archie never would have let him know about it. "I'm Archie. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but I don't think it really is."

"Yes, yes, I know who you are." Maxie waved him off, struggling to his feet. The sand shifted beneath him and threatened to give way. Sand. Again it struck him as odd - had he been on the beach? He couldn't recall. His head hurt. "What happened?"

Archie shrugged. "You tell me. You're the one lyin' out here on the beach after all."

Glowering at him - because this was certainly his fault - Maxie finally glanced around at his surroundings. Something was very wrong. There was no town, no city, no _civilization_ anywhere in sight. If he had been on the beach, he would have been near a city, right? Maxie began to panic internally - but remained stoic on the outside. "Where are we?"

"Outside of Treasure Town, on the beach." Archie replied easily. "You sure you're okay?"

"I never said I was," Treasure Town? What the hell was _that_? Maxie had never heard of such a thing in his life - and it sounded stupid. "Quit joking, Archie. Where are we, why did you bring me here, and what did you do _now_?"

"I didn't do anything!" A pause. "Well, okay, I tried to join Wigglytuff's guild but got kicked out again 'cause I Water Gunned the bird-what's-his-face..."

"What are you babbling about?" Maxie cut him off. Slowly the look of horror was beginning to set in. "Where in Hoenn are we?"

"What's a Hoenn?"

That was the final nail in the coffin, Maxie decided. This wasn't his beloved region - this was somewhere else entirely. Though how the hell had he gotten here? Again he tried to remember, and again he failed. "Just... just give me a moment to sort this all out." He finally relented. Archie shrugged again. From the corner of his eye, Maxie noticed some movement.

_Wham!_ Out of nowhere, two men slammed straight into Archie from behind, causing the Team Aqua leader to faceplant into the sand. "Whoops, sorry!" The shorter of the two snickered, clearly not sorry in the slightest.

"Our bad," The taller one said. Maxie got a good look at their odd uniforms - both were black with a large, red R stamped on them. It seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't recall why. The taller of the duo was slouching down to his friend's height; his posture was atrocious, Maxie thought distantly. His shoulders were covered in large purple shoulder-plates that were emitting smoke of some sort, and he was now fiddling with a cigarette. Beside him, the green-haired shorter man was still snickering. He had two blue ears popping out from under a black hat, along with two small blue wings coming from his back. "Didn't mean to run into you, buddy." The purple-haired man said, smoke drifting upward from his shoulder-pads.

Maxie was beginning to think this was some sort of acid trip.

"Yeah, totally didn't mean to- Ooh, what's that?" The green-haired man literally swooped down and picked what appeared to be a rock up from the sand, tossing it from one hand to the other. "Not bad, not bad! Looks like it could be valuable, Petrel."

"No doubt, Proton. C'mon, let's go show it to the boss." The two laughed and quickly darted off in the direction of a large cave behind Maxie. He turned to watch them go, a look of sheer disbelief on his face.

"Why didn't you stop them?" Archie demanded, grabbing Maxie by the collar and shaking him. "You could've gotten in their way or something!"

"Why didn't _you_?" He retorted, shaking Archie off. "And who cares anyway? It's just a rock."

"It's not a rock! That's my precious Relic Fragment!" Archie started toward the cave immediately, only turning when Maxie didn't follow him. "Well? Aren't you coming with me?"

"No."

"You'd better. C'mon, I could really use your help here!"

Maxie got the feeling he was supposed to make a big decision here. He opened his mouth to say no when Archie promptly added, "I'll kick your ass if you don't."

"Fine." Ugh, he really hated that brute.

So Maxie found himself in the cave, following blindly behind Archie who was quite literally crashing ahead. Several poor people were knocked aside - each with odd features that reassured Maxie that this had to be some sort of dream. He didn't feel particularly bad about punching them either - though for some reason he was actually able to knock them out without any difficulty. Maxie had never been particularly strong, so this was indeed quite the change.

"Wh-where are we going?" He asked breathlessly as he caught up to Archie.

"Deepest part of the cave, where else? There's no way outta here; those two are gonna get it!" Archie dragged Maxie down the staircase after him. Wait. _Staricase?_ What was a staircase doing in a cave? Maxie decided not to question it - his head was still killing him.

They reached the deepest part of the cave in no time at all. Archie called out, "Hey! You jerks! We know you're hiding here!"

"Actually, we weren't hiding at all," The purple-haired man, Petrel, said with a shrug. "We're right here."

"Figures it'd be a dead end," The smaller of the duo, Proton, grumbled. "I'm guessing you want this back?" He waved the rock around tauntingly. Archie made an attempt to snatch it, but Proton floated away, small wings somehow supporting his weight. "Ah ah ah~ Not so fast! You're gonna have to fight us for it!"

"Okay." Archie punched him square in the mouth. Proton was knocked out easily.

"Whoa, you're pretty good." Petrel said and shrugged as Archie plucked the rock from Proton's hand. "Guess it's yours then. We'll just be... going now." He grabbed the unconscious man and quickly darted out.

"Huh! Serves 'em right!" Archie examined the rock for a moment before putting it in his odd, shell-shaped backpack. "Thanks for the help. Oh, I never caught your name."

"Maxie... Wait, you know me! What are you trying to pull now, Archie?" Maxie glowered. Whatever it was Archie was up to, it was _stupid_. Especially if all this was some sort of elaborate ruse to make him think he was crazy. It was working.

Archie scratched the back of his head. "I dunno what you're talkin' 'bout. This is the first time we've met. I guess you know me, somehow."

Maxie shook his head slowly. "Okay, explain to me what's going on here. And what is with _this_?" He asked, yanking on Archie's "tail."

"Oww! Let go! Let go! What are you doing!" Archie yelped. He quickly jumped away, batting Maxie's hands. "You should know better than that! You've got one too - don't you hate it when people yank on your tail?"

"...I have a _what now_." Maxie didn't sound slightly amused. He did turn slightly, noticing a bunch of orange, yellow, and red feathers sticking out from under his coat, which was riding up awkwardly now that he thought about it. "..._What?_"

"You're a Torchic. I don't see what's up with you." Archie shrugged.

_Torchic?_ Oh hell no. What was going on here? "I'm not a Torchic! I'm human!" Maxie was beginning to lose it, now sounding a bit hysterical. "I don't know what you're playing at, Archie, but whatever it is, _stop it!_"

Instead, Archie led the way out. Maxie did manage to calm down, trying to fathom just what the hell was happening. It wasn't working. The only thing he could figure was that this was some sort of dream... or an acid trip. He wasn't sure he wanted to know which one it really was.

"You know, you were pretty useful back there! I'm lookin' to form an Exploration Team. You in?" Archie got a blank stare in return, so he elaborated, "I dunno what's up with you, but you're kinda stuck here for the time being. Why not help me out, huh? I can't join Wigglytuff's Guild without a partner, an' I can't find anyone useful. You seem to be decent, at least."

No. No, no, no. Maxie was not going to join Maxie for any reason. Never. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Of course I'm not joining you! I hate you!"

"Very mature of you," Archie remarked snidely. "I haven't even done anything to you! I dunno what's wrong with you." Another shrug. "C'mon, if you join the guild you'll get info. Maybe then you can figure out what happened to you - what turned you into a Torchic an' all."

"...It's your fault!" Maxie's voice had risen an octave with hysteria. "What... what are you trying to pull!"

"Nothing! That's what I've been tellin' you! You must have me mixed up with someone else or somethin'. 'Cause I haven't done anything to you."

A groan. A loud groan. Maxie knew he was going to regret this. He _knew_ it. Still, he closed his eyes, took a moment to gather himself, and said, "Fine. Only until I figure out what's going on! And then I'm outta here!"

Archie grinned in response and dragged Maxie off. He was definitely going to regret this.


	3. The New Guild Recruits

Archie dragged Maxie through the outskirts of a town - "Treasure Town," He remarked as they passed - and up to a large building looming over a cliff edge. The building would have been impressive if not for the large Wigglytuff-shaped roof. Maxie groaned. This was definitely a weird dream. Or acid trip. Or whatever it was.

Maxie hesitated as Archie marched over and stopped over a strange-looking grate, tapping a foot impatiently. A loud voice shouted from somewhere within, "WHOSE FOOTPRINT?"

"The footprint is Wartortle's!" Another voice shouted from within. Maxie lifted an eyebrow. How on earth could they tell what "Pokemon" it was from just a footprint? Actually, how could they even _see_ a footprint? He glanced at Archie and noticed that he was wearing sandals. That made even less sense. He decided not to dwell on it - this was clearly some sort of bizarre nightmare after all.

"There's someone with you! Get them UP on that grate!"

Archie stepped off and waited for a moment. When Maxie didn't move, he pointed. "They mean _you_."

With a sigh, Maxie stepped onto the grate. He was wearing his usual boots, so he doubted they'd be able to tell what "Pokemon" he was.

"WHOSE FOOTPRINT?"

"The footprint is... um..."

"WHAT? SENTRY DIGLETT, WHO IS THE VISITOR?"

"...Maybe Torchic!"

"WHAT? MAYBE?"

"I don't know what I don't know! And you don't see a lot of Torchics around here..."

"Are they fighting?" Archie wondered aloud, leaning over the grate and trying to look in. It was pitch-black.

"SORRY to keep you waiting! It's true you don't see many Torchics around here... but you're probably an okay Pokemon. You can come in."

The gate to the Guild was opened and once again Maxie was dragged off. "Hey look, a ladder. It must be underground or something," Archie remarked as they stopped to stare at the ladder leading downwards. Again Maxie followed Archie, and they ended up in an oddly bright room that was clearly underground. Archie pointed toward a window carved into the side in explanation. "Guess this place is carved into the cliff."

"Hello there~!" A man approached them. He had bright green wings sprouting from his back, a long dark ponytail brushing equally green tailfeathers. "We don't have time for surveys or door-to-door salesmen, so if you could kindly leave~"

"We're here to join the Guild, Chatot." Archie was positively smirking now. The man - Chatot - went pale on recognizing him. "An' look, I even found me a partner this time around."

"Oh... good." Chatot replied faintly. "Well I'll just... see the Guildmaster about this..."

"We'll come with you!" Maxie didn't even bother protesting as Archie dragged him off once more. There really wasn't any sense in fighting this bizarre dream - he was stuck in it. They descended another floor; this one was larger and less crowded, with a door blocking the way further back. Chatot motioned for them to follow him into the room.

"Guildmaster, we're coming in," Chatot announced, pushing the door in. Inside, with his back to them, was a short man wearing all pink. Two large bunny-like ears rose from his equally pink hair, and even from the back a large curl was visible in the middle of his forehead.

Wigglytuff, Maxie thought absently. He looked ridiculously gay. "Hiya!" Wigglytuff said, whipping around to face them. He was smiling broadly and looked suspiciously blank. "New guild members, right? Friendly friends~"

"Uh, right," Archie said. He looked even more disturbed than Maxie did - probably because the latter had decided this was some bizarre dream. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Sure thing, friend~ I just need the name of your team~"

"Name? Uh..." Archie glanced to Maxie. "I didn't even think about that. Whaddya think we should name ourselves?"

Maxie smirked. "Magma-Aqua. Team Magma-Aqua."

"Sure, we'll go with that. Archie shrugged. As Wigglytuff and Chatot turned to discuss something in an undertone, Archie asked, "Don't you think it should be Team Aqua-Magma?"

"No, Magma-Aqua sounds better." Maxie smirk widened.

"Alrighty~ Team Magma-Aqua! You're all registered!" Wigglytuffy twirled around and shouted, "YOOMTAH!" Archie and Maxie exchanged a look, but before either of them could say anything, Wigglytuff continued, "And here's your Explorer Bag! Open it up, open it up~"

Archie opened the bag up and took out the first item. A bright purple bow. He snickered and handed it to Maxie. "A Violet Bow, huh? Seems suiting for you." Maxie glowered. "Oh, a Defense Scarf too? And what's this? Explorer Badges?" He handed one to Maxie. The Team Magma leader suppressed a laugh. It was shaped like the Team Magma insignia. The one Archie kept was shaped like the Team Aqua insignia. "And a Wonder Map! Wow, there's a lot of good stuff in here."

"Yes, indeed there is. Let me show you to your room." Chatot flapped his wings to get their attention. "Since you're a team, you'll be sharing a room."

Maxie groaned. Archie ignored him. "Well, let's go already."

"Yes, your training starts early tomorrow morning. You'd better be well rested!" Chatot led them back into the main room, then down a side hall into a cluster of smaller rooms. There was one room without anything in it save two straw mats, and Chatot pointed to it. "This will be your room. Loudred - a fellow apprentice - will wake you tomorrow morning. Don't be late!"

"We won't." Archie promised and entered the room. It was rather small, and the straw mats didn't look very comfortable. Apparently Archie didn't think the same though, for he exclaimed, "Yes, we get beds!"

Maxie groaned and selected one of the straw mats to sit on. It wasn't as uncomfortable as it looked, and almost immediately his eyes began to droop. It had been a long day. Maybe he'd wake up in his own world. That thought alone was enough to get him to curl up on that cot and attempt to sleep.

"Pretty busy day today, huh? Well I'm glad you're here, Maxie." Archie said honestly. He glanced over at the human-turned-Torchic, only to find Maxie was asleep. Laughing, Archie flopped back on his cot and began drifting off as well.

"HEY! WAKE UP! IT'S MORNING! C'MON ALREADY! YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE! AND IF YOU'RE LATE THEN GUILDMASTER WIGGLYTUFF-"

Maxie was pretty sure his hearing went after the first few words. That shouting was ungodly loud for such an untimely hour. Archie already had his hands over his fluffy blue ears and was wincing. Finally the loud noise ceased and the two had a moment to clear the ringing in their ears. "Jeez, that was loud! What the hell was that anyway?" Archie asked, rubbing one ear with a look of pain on his face. "Ugh, what the hell..."

The realization hit them both at the same time. "Oh! We joined the guild yesterday, that's right! Which means... we're late!" Archie dragged Maxie off again - though Maxie had to admit his excitement was a bit contagious.

The other guild recruits turned when they arrived. "YOU'RE LATE!" Shouted one young man wearing mostly purple with two strange speaker-looking things coming from his head. Maxie wasn't sure what Pokemon he was supposed to be.

"Shush! Your voice is ridiculously loud!" Chatot reprimanded, flapping his wings and looking pained, probably by that loud voice. The boy huffed in response. "Guildmaster, the guild is assembled~" Chatot called. A moment without any movement from behind the door leading to Wigglytuff's room and Chatot called out again, "Guildmaster?"

The door opened outward and the Guildmaster stumbled out. His eyes were wide open, but when he spoke it was clear he was still asleep, and snoring loudly.

"Eek! The Guildmaster's eyes are still open!"

"I-is he asleep?"

"Oh my gosh!"

"Thank you for your... err, words of wisdom, Guildmaster." Chatot said weakly. "Time for the morning cheers!"

"ONE! Don't shirk work! TWO! Run away and pay! AND THREE! Smiles go for miles!" The guild members all chanted together.

"Dismissed!" Chatot finished, waving a wing with a flourish. The apprentices all set off to do various tasks, leaving the two newest guild members standing there.

"What was that?" Maxie finally asked, expression somewhere between bemused and horrified.

"I dunno. Not sure I ever wanna hear it again." Archie added.

Chatot turned to them. "Oh? What are you two doing standing there? Oh that's right, you're the new recruits. Well, let's get you started on a job..."

The two followed Chatot up the ladder and into the main room. Chatot indicated a board with several pieces of paper stuck on it. "This is the job bulletin board. You'll be getting jobs from here most days. Let's see if we can find an easy one... Aha~!" He selected a note and handed it over for them to read. Archie took it and Maxie read over his shoulder,

_Hello there, kind explorers!  
My name is Spoink and I've lost something very important to me. My pearl! Without it, I just can't settle down! But good news! I heard my pearl's been spotted around Drenched Bluff! Can you go look for it, please? I'm just too weak to go find it there myself! Thank you!  
-Spoink_

"Wait, so we're just findin' some lost item?" Archie sounded disappointed. "I thought we were gonna go explore - y'know, find new places and treasure an' all!"

"Shush!" Chatot scolded. Archie didn't seem intimidated in the slightest. "You have to pay your guild dues. Do you really think your training is free? No! You have to do jobs like this sometimes. It's best to start slow anyway. Now then! Open your Wonder Map."

Archie pulled the map out of his shell-shaped backpack, which probably had the Treasure Bag in it too. "Okay, here's where we are." Chatot said, indicating a location marked Treasure Town. "Here's Drenched Bluff." He pointed at another spot on the map. "Using this map, you can find your way there easily."

"Yeah, got it." Archie put the map away. "How'd a Spoink lose his pearl anyway. Don't they die if they don't have it on their head?"

"Well," Chatot said with a frown, "it was probaby stolen. A lot of bad Pokemon have cropped up ever since time's been going out of whack..."

_Time's been going out of whack?_ Maxie thought. _Like hours and minutes? How does that even work?_

"Well, I wish you the best of luck! Before you go, you should explore Treasure Town. I'll get one of the guild members to help you out." Chatot turned and called toward the other guild members who were trying not to stare too obviously, "Bidoof! Bidoof, where are you?"

"I'm here, yup yup!" Up the ladder came another young man wearing mostly brown. He had wild curly hair that stuck out at odd angles around his face. Two equally round ears stuck out of his head, and his eyes were quite large and innocent looking.

"I really want to punch him in the face," Archie grumbled to Maxie, and the Team Magma leader had to agree. There was something about him that really made Maxie want to hit him. Maybe it was look of sheer _stupidity_ on his face.

"You're the new guild members, right? Ayup, I'm just so excited!" His cheeks turned rosy. "Before y'all came I was the newest member!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, can we just get this over with?" Archie shifted from one foot to the other awkwardly.

"Oh, ayup, sure thing!" Bidoof led them outside and toward the town. Maxie glanced around curiously. "Well, this is Treasure Town."

"I can tell him about that," Archie shrugged. "Duskull's bank holds money. We get that from exploring and doing jobs. There's Kangaskhan's Storage over there - we can put our items in there. If we faint while doin' a mission or somethin', we can lose our items and money. Oh, an' there's the Kecleon Brothers Shop over there - we can buy stuff there. That's really about it. It's a pretty shitty town, I know."

Bidoof looked horrified by Archie's language. Maxie liked him much better when he was silent. "Okay, I got it. Let's just get this over already."

"Sounds good!" Archie turned around and left Bidoof standing there in town with that dumbstruck look on his face.

It didn't take them long to find the bluff or enter it. In much the same way they had fought their way through the cave on the beach, they proceeded to beat the ever-loving crap out of any Pokemon that crossed their path. There were stairs here too, but this time they led up. "How are we going to get back down?" Maxie asked when they paused by one set of stairs to rest for a moment.

"The Explorer Badges, of course." Archie rolled his eyes. "They've got some kinda magical power or somethin'."

"Magic." Maxie stated, disbelievingly.

"Yeah. They'll teleport us back to the guild."

They continued after that, and Maxie decided not to ask about anything else. If it didn't make sense, fine. He'd just keep his concerns to himself. He never wanted to hear Archie utter the word 'magic' again. It was creepy how he'd said it so seriously.

Finally they reached the very top of the bluff, and lying there completely unattended was a shiny pink pearl. "Is this it?" Maxie asked, scooping it up.

"Looks like it. Let's get back to the guild. I'm lookin' forward to that money." Archie grinned wolfishly and grabbed the Explorer Badge he'd pinned to his bandana. "C'mon, hang on. I bet you don't know how to use one of these."

"How do you?" Maxie asked. Archie didn't give him a straight answer, instead smirking. He didn't know. Oh god. He was going to teleport them and they'd probably lose a limb or something in the process and oh god-

He didn't even realize they were standing on the first floor of the guild and talking to their client until Archie thanked Spoink and waved a bag of coins in his face. "Hey, Maxie, pay attention. We're rich! Two-thousand Poke!"

"...What?"

"Poke. Unit of money here. C'mon, pay attention already!"

Chatot came over, clearing his throat. "Good work today, both of you. But you must know that the guild has costs it must attend to. If I may," He swiped the bag from Archie's hand. The Wartortle looked like he was going to choke a bitch, but Chatot quickly returned with a much smaller, lighter bag. "Your total is this~" He handed it over and Archie quickly glanced through it.

"Two hundred Poke?" He asked in disbelief. "What?"

"The guild's training is rather expensive." Chatot said, almost apologetically. Or maybe he was terrified of getting hit in the face. "So sorry about that. But we expect the same amount of effort from you tomorrow! Goodnight!" And with that, he quickly fled.

"Can't believe it," Archie grumbled as they descended the ladder and returned to their room. "He took all that money! We were rich too!"

Maxie said nothing, instead going straight for the bed. "Damn bird," Archie snarled. Again Maxie didn't seem to be paying attention. "Well good night to you too."


	4. The Scream

The morning routine was very much the same as it had been yesterday. The apprentice Loudred shouted at the duo to wake up, nearly succeeded in breaking their eardrums, and then they went to the morning briefing and cheers, which still terrified them both greatly. "Are you regretting your decision to join this guild yet?" Maxie asked Archie in an undertone as they stood near the back while their peers cheered happily about nothing important.

"Not on your life," Archie smirked. "The pay sucks, everyone's crazy, but it'll take more than this to get me to quit. 'Specially 'cause it took me so long to get here."

Maxie sighed. It had been worth a shot. Not that he had anything else to do while he was stuck in this bizarre dream world. He hadn't woken up in his own world yet, which pissed him off, but there really wasn't anything he could do at the moment.

"Ah, are you two still here?" Chatot asked. Only then did they realize that the other guild members had scampered off for their usual chores or whatever the hell it was they did on a daily basis. "Today you're going to look over the outlaw notice board."

"The what?"

"Remember how I said there were bad Pokemon cropping up?" Chatot asked. He continued once he received a nod from the two of them, "There are those that are really bad, they're wanted Pokemon with marks on their head."

Something about that struck a chord with Maxie, but he couldn't tell just what it was. Archie elaborated, "Yeah, and they range from petty thieves to real bad guys."

Chatot nodded. "Good, you certainly do know a lot." Archie only smirked in response. "W-well, anyway, you all should get prepared at Treasure Town first. I'll have Bidoof help you choose a suitable outlaw to take down when you return~"

"Sure thing." Archie started up the ladder, bypassing the first level and the two bulletin boards to return to the town. Maxie followed him. "Good, we finally get to do somethin' _fun_!" Archie laughed - that same annoying and loud laugh Maxie clearly remembered. Come to think of it, why did he remember Archie so clearly and not much else? All this thinking and attempting to remember was giving him a headache.

They strolled through town, with Archie greeting several of the Pokemon. After storing their things with Kangaskhan, the duo walked toward the Kecleon Market. Both Kecleons had the same hairstyle and dress, but one wore green while the other donned purple. "Greetings!" They both said in unison. "Welcome to our shop! How can we assist you?"

"Just lookin'," Archie remarked as he glanced over their wares. There were a few orbs, some seeds and berries, and what looked like large jelly beans. "Gummies," He explained on seeing Maxie's curious expression. "Lot'a this stuff is only good in dungeons."

"Dungeons?"

"You know, those places were were lookin' around. They're usually called dungeons. Dunno where the term comes from though."

Maxie lifted up a silver disc thoughtfully, turning it this way and that. The purple-haired Kecleon snatched it back with a warning of "Don't handle the wares!"

"Isn't that a TM?" He asked Archie. "They teach moves, right?"

"Yeah." Archie didn't bother explaining how they worked, which was really why Maxie had asked him in the first place, but they didn't have any further time to explore the subject. Two boys pushed them aside to get to the Kecleon Mart.

"Hi misters Kecleon!" The larger of the two boys said. A set of bright blue ears and an odd-looking tail marked him as a Marill. His brother looked like a smaller Marill, a Pokemon Maxie had never seen. "We're here to buy an apple today."

"Ah, Marill, Azuril!" Their transaction quickly took place and the Kecleon brothers sent them on their merry way. "Those two boys are so sweet. They've done all the shopping since their mother fell ill."

Azuril raced back suddenly, practically hopping from one foot to the other in anxiety. "Ooh, mister Kecleon! You gave us two apples! We only paid for one!"

"That's a gift from us, my little friend! Please, take it!"

"Oh, thank you!" Azuril cheered happily and started to leave. He tripped over a rock and fell face-first onto the grass. "Oof!" The apple left his hand and rolled over to Maxie's feet. The Team Magma boss picked it up and held it out for the child to take.

"Thank you very much, sir," Azuril said with a small bow. He took the apple quickly, brushing Maxie's hand accidentally.

"What good kids! Shame there aren't more like them," Archie was saying, but for some reason Maxie couldn't quite focus.

The world around him began to fade out into a fuzzy static of some sort, and suddenly Maxie heard a voice - incapable of seeing anything.

"H-h-help!"

Just like that his vision was back and he staggered under the suddenness of it all. "Did you hear that?" He asked Archie, clutching a hand to his now-aching head.

"Hear what?" Archie didn't look like he'd just heard someone screaming for help.

Maxie took a moment to look around. No one seemed to have heard it, nor did it seem to come from any of them. "A scream. Did you hear it?" The Kecleon brothers shook their heads too. Archie raised an eyebrow. "I just heard it. Don't give me that look - I'm not crazy!"

"Sure, you're probably just overworked or something." He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "Pussy," before finally saying farewell to the Kecleon brothers.

They made their way back toward the guild, only to be stopped again by the Marill brothers. They were talking with a Drowzee. "You saw it, mister? You saw our Water Float?"

"Ooh, mister Drowzee can you take us to it? It's really important to us!"

"Of course! I'd be more than happy to!" The man said with a smile. Maxie was struck by how creepy it seemed. Archie didn't seem to notice.

"With so many bad Pokemon showing up, it's good to see there's still some good out there," He said. Maxie just stared at him.

Marill, Azuril, and Drowzee made their way out of town, but the latter accidentally bumped into Maxie. "Oops! I'm so sorry about that." He apologized quickly and left, following the Marill brothers.

"Yep, not many good Pokemon like that around anymore," Again Archie's voice began to fade and the world around quickly vanished into black.

This time the world did come back into view, only it was terribly skewed, as if he was looking down on the scene from somewhere far above. It was a mountainous region, and suddenly Drowzee walked into view. "Don't make a fuss, kid. This'll go so much worse for you if you do."

He was tugging on Azuril's tail. The kid was trying to escape. "H-h-help!" He screamed loudly.

Then suddenly Maxie was back to reality (or what currently passed for reality) again, staring up into the bright sunlight. "Jeez, what the hell was that?" Archie's voice. He turned to look at the Wartortle, who was crouching beside him. "You just crumpled up like a ragdoll and fainted! What's the big idea, huh? If I hadn't been there, you would'a hit your head or something!"

"That kid, Azuril, is in trouble." Maxie said, trying to sit up.

Archie's hand knocked him back down. "Oh no you don't! You just fainted, you really think you're well enough to be runnin' around?"

"Are you even listening?"

"Not particularly."

Maxie grit his teeth together. "Then start, Archie. Azuril is in trouble. That Drowzee isn't a good Pokemon. I _saw_ it."

"Uh huh. Torchics aren't Psychic-types."

"I didn't mean like that! I just know it, okay? We have to go help him." Maxie couldn't believe he was saying that. It wasn't any of his business to look after children who were stupid enough to get themselves kidnapped by creepers. But somehow or other he felt he _had_ to go rescue the kid. And if he was being forced into it, then so was Archie. "Come on."

"We can't. We're supposed to help the guild out. So even if what you're sayin' is true an' all, there's nothin' we can do 'bout it." Archie got to his feet and helped Maxie up. "We can tell Wigglytuff, I guess..."

That would have to do, Maxie supposed. The two quickly made their way back to the guild, only to be stopped near the entrance by Bidoof. "Oh there y'all are! Ayup, are you ready to pick a criminal-type to take down?"

"Not now, we've gotta see the Guildmaster." Archie tried to push him aside, but the brunet was relentless.

"That can wait. You've gotta pick someone to go after first! C'mon, the board's over here." Bidoof led them rather unwillingly to the board on the opposite side of the ladders. "These are the outlaws, yup yup. Let's see if we can find you one..."

"There! Look, Maxie!" Archie snatched a notice off the wall and handed it to his partner. Maxie's expression hardened and the two quickly ran off, wanted poster in hand.

"Wh-what?" Bidoof asked after them. "Didn't you want to see the Guildmaster...?"

Mt. Bristle wasn't much different from the other dungeons the two had been through. They raced through it even faster than the previous ones though, taking out anyone stupid enough to get in their way. Archie didn't question Maxie's vision any, nor did he even bother asking why Maxie had it in the first place. For the record, Maxie wasn't questioning that either.

Drowzee walked into view. "Don't make a fuss, kid. This'll go so much worse for you if you do."

He was tugging on Azuril's tail. The kid was trying to escape. "H-h-help!" He screamed loudly.

"Stop right there!" Archie pointed dramatically at the Drowzee. "Let him go!"

"An Exploration Team? Here?" Drowzee let the kid go and turned to them. "Agh, I can't believe my rotten luck! Followed me all the way up here... How'd you even know where I was?" He was about to continue when he seemed to notice something. "You're shaking. You're not really an Exploration Team are you? You're completely new to this!"

"No, actually I'm shaking with pent-up rage," Archie corrected good-naturedly. He then punched Drowzee square in the face.

About thirty minutes later Magnezone and a couple of Magnemites showed up. Archie explained that they served as the cops here, and they quickly carted Drowzee away.

"What was he tryin' to do to you?" Archie asked Azuril as the boy waited for his brother.

"He wanted me to go into this cave for him. Said there was treasure there, or something." Azuril sniffed, rubbing his face on the sleeve of his over-sized blue sweatshirt. "I told him I didn't want to. I can't believe he lied about seeing our Water Float! What kind of guy would do that?"

"A bad one, clearly." Maxie stated with a frown. He did feel (sort of) bad for the kid; it truely took a terrible person to betray a child's trust. He had never done that. Had he? Suddenly Maxie wasn't sure anymore.

Marill arrived, thanked them, and quickly took his brother home. The two returned to the guild as the sun began to set. "Well, we sure as hell had a long day." Archie yawned as they returned to their room. "Though I gotta ask, how'd you know that Drowzee was gonna do that?"

"I saw it." Maxie shrugged. "Almost like a vision, I suppose."

"A vision?" Archie shrugged off the backpack and sat on his cot, waiting for Maxie to continue.

"When I fainted, that's what I saw. That scene. I don't know how it happened. It just... did."

"That's a pretty cool ability. Bein' able to see the future an' all."

"Hmm. I suppose."

"D'ya think it has anything to do with your past? With how you became a Pokemon?"

"I don't know." Maxie laid back on the cot, signaling that the conversation was over. Archie did the same moments later and the two drifted into silence. Finally Maxie said, grudgingly, "I don't remember anything. Except you. I don't know why or how, but I know you somehow."

"Kinda funny how these things work, huh? Well, I'm guessin' you'll get answers one way or another."

"Hmm. I suppose..."


	5. The Gatekeepers

Loudred screaming. Guild members' bizarre morning ritual chanting. Chatot's debriefing. Maxie was beginning to see things fall into a pattern - and not a pattern he liked very much. The red-head yawned into the sleeve of his coat, trying not to look as exhausted as he felt.

"Rough night?" Archie asked. He nearly sounded sympathetic, and Maxie might have been inclined to believe he was asking out of the goodness of his heart (hah!), were it not for that superior smirk ever-present on his face.

"Shut up," Maxie replied eloquently. Archie was right whether he knew it or not. Maxie had dreamed - the first time he'd had a dream while in this bizarre dream-world. It hadn't been pretty. He didn't remember much about it, but it had woken him up in the dead of night in a cold sweat. Whatever it was, it was bordering on _terrifying_, and he hoped he wouldn't have to face it again.

"HEY! NEWBIES!" Loudred's voice cut through Chatot's usual speech of "Go arrest criminals and bring back money!" "We need your HELP!"

"Oh, it seems you'll be taking over Diglett's duty today." Chatot said, wincing at the horrid loud sound of Loudred's voice. "Don't worry about jobs for today, then. Just focus on Loudred's instructions~" With that, the bird Pokemon turned and entered Wigglytuff's room. Archie made some crack about what they were doing behind closed doors, but Maxie had stopped paying attention to his partner.

Loudred and Diglett waited over by a hole in the ground. A long vine led into the pitch-black underground. Evidently this part wasn't built into the side of a cliff like the rest of the guild. "About TIME!" Loudred yelled.

"I'm really sorry, but I have something else to do today." Diglett said, and burrowed off. Maxie was slightly more disturbed by the fact that no one seemed to be bothered by the fact that a little kid was burrowing his way underground.

"So what are we doin'?" Archie asked Loudred. "What do you guys do every day anyway?"

"Sentry duty!" The loud Pokemon pointed down the hole in explanation. "Just get down there and follow the path. Eventually you'll be underneath that grate outside the entrance to the guild. GOT IT?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Archie pushed Maxie toward the hole. "Well? After you."

"Coward," Maxie grunted and carefully made his way down into the darkness, using the vine for a guide. It certainly wasn't easy getting down there, and the only light that came was from the hole leading up to the guild.

"Good!" Even Loudred's voice was dulled by the earth between them. "Now just keep going toward the light! Let me know when you're in position!"

Maxie attempted to move forward, only to run straight into a wall. Of course it wouldn't be a straight line, that would make too much sense. Frowning, he held his hands out against the wall, attempting to find his way by touch alone. Behind him he could hear Archie swear several times before suddenly a bright light illuminated the pitch-black. "There we go!" Archie held up a small blue orb. "Luminous Orb," He explained on seeing Maxie's curious look. "I picked one up in the last dungeon."

"Convenient," Maxie nodded. With the orb in hand, the two managed to make their way through the twists and turns that ran beneath the guild. Finally they saw some natural - albeit dim - sunlight coming in from above. "Here we are." Maxie climbed up and craned his neck back to look upwards.

"Oh, so this is how they figure out who to let in the guild. Remember when they couldn't tell what your footprint was?"

"Yes. I'm still wearing boots, you know." Maxie stated sarcastically.

Archie waved the comment off. "Well this is how they do it. I'm guessing we just look at the footprint and tell Loudred whose it is."

"That's RIGHT!" Loudred shouted from somewhere within the guild. "Just give me the Pokemon and I'll determine whether or not they're SAFE!"

"That seems stupid." Maxie remarked. "How can you tell whether a Pokemon is good or not just by the footprint?" Archie shrugged in response, but Loudred was already shouting that visitors were allowed in.

The work day went by quickly. There weren't many Pokemon entering the guild that day. Though Archie and Maxie bickered over every single footprint they saw, they did eventually manage to get them all right. By the end of the day, when they were allowed to return inside, the Luminous Orb had long since run out of power, the two had already argued about everything under the sun, and both were covered in dirt. Maxie looked even more displeased about it than Archie.

_Ding, ding, ding!_ "Alright everyone, dinner's on!" Chimeco called happily from the dining room. Immediately all the guild members charged in, with Maxie and Archie trailing behind.

"Oh BOY, chow-time!"

"I'm so hungry, yup yup!"

"Eek! Thank you so much, Chimeco!"

They all dove in as if they didn't posess any manners, which made even Archie look like a gentleman in comparison. Maxie would have taken his food and left had it not been for the fact that he had no way to carry all of it. Chimeco was a good chef, he'd admit that much.

"That was good," Archie remarked as they exited the dining room ten minutes later. "But we're gonna need to do something about these clothes." He tugged on his t-shirt in explanation. Maxie nodded grimly. He didn't have any other clothes in this world - nor had he seen anyone else wear anything differently. "C'mon, we'll have to wash down by the beach - the river's too far from here for a quick trip. So're the hot springs."

"Hot springs?" Maxie asked curiously.

"Yeah, they're not all they're cracked up to be. Always full of old Fire and Ground-type Pokemon."

Maxie wondered if that was supposed to be a stab at him. He had trained both Fire and Ground-types. But Archie wasn't giving him that smirk at the moment, so he let it go. The two quickly made their way down to the beach and Archie shamelessly ripped off his clothes.

"Do you mind!" Maxie asked, horrified.

"No, do you?" Archie shrugged and dumped his shirt and shorts unceremoniously into the ocean waves. "What's that look for anyway?"

"D-don't get any ideas!" Maxie stabbed a finger in his direction. He channeled embarassment into rage, something he was quite good at. "I don't want you staring at me!"

"I don't see why I'd _want_ to, but okay." Archie shrugged again and removed his clothes from the water, shaking both out and examining them. The dirt was (mostly) gone and he began to wring them out, turning so his back was to Maxie.

Flushing - and very glad it was too dark to see it - Maxie removed his own coat. Thankfully his pants hadn't gotten much dirt on them, and he opted to stand in the waves to get the dirt off of them. It was so _humiliating_ to be undressing in front of his sworn enemy, even if Archie actually wasn't looking and making him feel even more uncomfortable for once- "I saw that! Turn back around this instant!"

Archie merely laughed at him.

It wouldn't take long for them to return to the guild with soaking wet clothes, but at least they were clean. The guild was locked up behind them, with Chatot muttering something darkly about how they shouldn't be out so late, that they could get kidnapped by Ghost Pokemon (Maxie doubted that). They returned to their room and Archie flopped down on his cot right away. "Well, that was... interesting." He finally offered.

"Terribly droll, more like it."

"Hah! I won't deny that." The Wartortle folded his arms behind his head and shut his eyes. "G'night, Maxie."

"Night, Archie." A moment of silence and then, "I'm still not forgiving you for looking."

"You're such a prude."


End file.
